1. Field of the Invention
The present invention belongs to a technical field of female crimp terminals to be fitted in housings of female connectors and relates to measures to prevent the body of a female crimp terminal from deformation.
2. Related Art
A female crimp terminal is known, wherein a leaf spring is provided inside a tubular body into which a male terminal is inserted through a front opening of the tubular body, and the body is integrally provided with a barrel with a neck between the body and the barrel. In the case of the female crimp terminal that is disclosed by Japanese Patent unexamined publication gazette Heisei 9-147950, the body comprises a bottom wall, side walls rising from both ends, in the width direction, of the bottom wall, and upper walls extending sidewise from the upper ends of the side walls. The neck is formed approximately into a U shape when seen in the front-rear or longitudinal direction, and is integrally formed on the lower parts of both side walls and the bottom wall at the rear end of the body. The barrel is formed approximately into a U shape when seen in the longitudinal direction, and is integrally formed on the neck and has retainers extending upward high above the neck.
In the female crimp terminal as described above, when an electric wire is to be crimped onto the barrel, the upper ends of the barrel will be bent inward, and the bending force will be transmitted through the neck to the rear end of the body and the body may be deformed. This deformation of the body will take place in the form of, for example, bending of the side walls or expansion of the upper walls. Should this happen, when the female crimp terminal is to be inserted into a cell of the housing, the resistance to the insertion may be greater or it may be impossible to insert the female crimp terminal into the housing. In particular, when the female crimp terminal is compactified by shortening the longitudinal length of the neck, this defect will be conspicuous.
The present invention was made in view of these points, and one objective of the invention is to prevent the bending force applied to the barrel from being transmitted to the upper parts of the rear ends of the side walls by making a notch in each side wall from the rear end of the body so as to divide the side wall into an upper part and a lower part, to secure strength of the neck and secure the function of the leaf spring, to prevent bending of the upper parts of the side walls and expansion of the upper wall, in turn, to ensure smooth insertion of the female crimp terminal into a cell of the housing, and to enable compactification of the female crimp terminal by shortening the longitudinal length of the neck.
To accomplish the above-mentioned objective, the female crimp terminal of the present invention comprises a tubular body that has a bottom wall, side walls rising from both ends, in the width direction, of the bottom wall, and an upper wall extending sidewise from the upper end of the side wall, into which a male terminal is to be inserted through a front opening thereof, a leaf spring being located inside the body and being integrally formed on the front part of the body, a neck being formed approximately into a U shape when seen in the longitudinal direction and being integrally formed on the lower parts of the side walls and the bottom wall at the rear end of the body, and a barrel being formed approximately into a U shape when seen in the longitudinal direction, being integrally formed on the neck and having retainers extending upward high above the neck, and a notch is made in each side wall from the rear end of the body so as to divide the side wall into an upper part and a lower part.
In this female crimp terminal, if an electric wire, of which insulation is removed to expose the core, is placed in the cavity of the barrel and the retainers of the barrel are bent inward, the electric wire will be crimped in the barrel. If the female crimp terminal is inserted into the housing, and a male terminal is inserted into the body of the female crimp terminal, the male terminal will be inserted between the inside wall of the body and the leaf spring and connection between both terminals will be made. In that case, the bending force, which is generated when the retainers of the barrel are bent inward during crimping, will be transmitted via the neck to the rear end of the body. However, as each side wall is divided into an upper part and a lower part by the notch at the rear end thereof, the above-mentioned bending force will not affect the upper part of each side wall at the rear end of the body. Thus bending of the upper parts of side walls and expansion of the upper wall at the rear end of the body will be prevented. Accordingly, the insertion resistance when the female crimp terminal is inserted into the cell of the housing will not increase, and the female crimp terminal can be inserted smoothly into the cell of the housing. As the notches are not made in the neck itself or the notches are not made vertically between the neck and the body, the strength of the neck is secured. The above-mentioned bending force will be transmitted to the lower parts of the side walls at the rear end of the body. However, the insertion resistance when the female crimp terminal is inserted into the cell of the housing does not increase since the lower parts of the side walls at the rear end of the body are integrally formed on the bottom wall and have a higher rigidity than the upper parts, and even if the lower parts are deformed, they will be concaved inwardly. As the leaf spring is integrally formed on the front part of the body, the decrease in the rigidity resulting from making the notches does not affect the function of the leaf spring. Since the bending of the upper parts of the side walls and expansion of the upper wall at the rear end of the body are prevented as explained above, the female crimp terminal can be compactified by shortening the longitudinal length of the neck. As the upper wall is not worked, a retainer may be fitted on the upper side of the neck.
In the female crimp terminal according to the present invention a notch is made in each side wall at the rear end of the body to divide the side wall into an upper and a lower part so as to prevent the force for bending the barrel from being transmitted to the upper part of the side wall at the rear end, to prevent bending of the upper part of the side wall and expansion of the upper wall while securing the strength of the neck and securing the function of the leaf spring, and in turn, to eliminate any increase in insertion resistance when the female crimp terminal is inserted into a cell of the housing and ensure smooth insertion of the female crimp terminal into the cell of the housing. In turn, the female crimp terminal can be compactified by shortening the longitudinal length of the neck. As the upper wall is not worked, a retainer can be fitted onto the upper side of the neck.